Background:
A stroke is the lack or reduction of blood flow in the brain causing damage to the brain tissue and can be fatal. In Ireland, almost 6000 adults were admitted to hospitals due to strokes in 2020. It has been proven that stroke affects not only physical health but mental and social status as well (Brych et al.,2020). Depression by itself is a debilitating illness and is prevalent among the post-stroke Irish sample (Cassidy et al.,2003). The proposed summer studentship project sits within an existing randomized controlled trial that aims to ascertain the effectiveness of ACTivate Your Life After Stroke (AYLAS) intervention. The AYLAS intervention is an Acceptance and Commitment Therapy –based intervention designed to support psychological adjustment post-stroke. Croí Heart and Stroke charity staff received formal training in delivering AYLAS and are now working with the research team at the School of Psychology, University of Galway to evaluate its impact and acceptability. In the main trial, patients will be randomized to receive the AYLAS intervention or to join a wait-list control group that will receive the intervention at a later date. The intervention effectiveness will be assessed through changes in patients’ psychological well-being scores.
Aim:
This sub-study aims to understand patient perceptions of the acceptability of participating in the AYLAS intervention.
Methods: Open-ended questions will be included in the trial outcome measure pack to survey patients (n=24) about their perceptions of the acceptability of the AYLAS intervention Acceptability questions are based on the Theoretical Framework of Acceptability of healthcare interventions (Sekhon, Cartwright&Francis, 2017). Data will be analyzed using Framework Analysis (Gale et al.,2013).
Expected outcomes:
Key information will be gleaned about seven key components of the acceptability of the AYLAS programme for delivery in Ireland: affective attitude, burden, perceived effectiveness, ethicality, intervention coherence, opportunity costs, and participant self-efficacy.